The thought that counts

“No one ever become poor from giving…”

Anne Frank

Recently, I was the fortunate recipient of these gifts. They were given to me by friends for no particular reason. They encountered the items and thought I might to to have them and put them to use. They are a book on fountain pen history, a walnut writing slope and a Parker 45 fountain pen. The pen and slope have already been put to good use, writing the hand written draft of this blog. After a little more research, all may become blog topics. Bloggers never rest. These gift have sparked a memory of an encounter with a patient in my public outpatient clinic, several decades ago. As I showed her into the clinic room, she pulled from her bag an antique pen and inkwell desk set. To quote her “I saw this at a car boot sale and I thought to myself that is the sort of crap Dr Walsh likes…”. These interactions are nothing about the actual gift. They are symbols of thoughts, goodwill and friendship. They indicate that a person knows your interests and tastes, that think about you as they go about their lives, and that seek to extend you happiness when possible. #thankyou #letsmakelemonade